Philanthropy and the activities of russian charitable societies in Turkestan (the second half of the 19th - early 20th century)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the activities of Russian charitable societies in Turkestan from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. The study provides a better understanding of the role and significance of philanthropy at the interfaces between different cultures and civilizations. The analysis of charitable societies’ activities identifies their contribution to the social development of the region and assesses their impact on the formation of the Russian society image in front of the residents. The study helps to trace the approaches evolution of philanthropy and public participation during historical changes that took place in Central Asia from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. Ultimately, the aim of the study is to identify the impact of Russian charitable organizations on the social and cultural interaction and mutual understanding between different ethnic and religious groups in Turkestan. Due to the region’s features and the difficulty in obtaining reliable data, the research subject is not carefully studied. Various restrictions and partial loss present special difficulties in accessing archival materials. Moreover, a comprehensive and comparative analysis of various sources and data should be done to form valid conclusions about the role and influence of Russian charitable organizations in Turkestan. The research requires an interdisciplinary approach and extensive work on the analysis of texts, archival materials, statistical data, and other sources to get an objective view on philanthropic activities in Turkestan from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. The author uses historical research methods to analyze the sources such as archival documents, publications, and statistical data on philanthropy and charitable societies’ activities in Turkestan. The historical analysis provide primary information about the goals, mechanisms and results of their activities. A critical review and a historical reconstruction helps to recreate the chronology of events related to the activities of Russian charitable societies and to reveal their impact on the social development of the region. The goal of a comparative analysis is to compare the Russian charitable organizations’ experience in Turkestan with those in other regions. The interdisciplinary approach helps to use the different fields of knowledge tools to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the philanthropy history in Turkestan. As a result, the author concludes that the study helps to enrich historical knowledge about the region, especially in social and cultural interactions between different ethnic and social groups. The historical review of Russian charitable organizations’ experience in Turkestan gives recommendations for contemporary ones to help them develop effective activity strategies. The research results can serve as the starting point for a new academic work in history, sociology, cultural studies and other disciplines related to philanthropy and social responsibility.